There are over 300,000 km of power transmission lines traversing the USA (and many km more across the world) delivering electrical power through aluminum conductors with various forms of additional reinforcement. A significant issue in the power transmission industry is cost associated with transmission/distribution loss (up to 6.5% in 2007) as well as the infrastructure cost associated with suspending power lines whose spans are limited by the strength/stiffness of the line itself. Over time lines begin to sag requiring maintenance.
In addition, power transmission and data transfer lines suffer from signal distortion due in part to crosstalk, stray inductance or capacitance created by other lines, and noise, interference created by external sources. Signal distortion has been overcome through the use of twisted pairs, where the twisting of two wires together cancels electromagnetic signals, and/or the incorporation of shielding material, such as magnetic foils, which are layered in the wire sheathing/insulation. While these techniques have been shown to reduce issues related to crosstalk and noise, the these techniques can add significant weight and cost to components utilizing twisted pairs or shielded wire.